One method of hunting requires a hunter to sit patiently and undetected for a period of time until a unsuspecting prey walks within range of the hunter's weapon. In order to succeed with this type of hunting procedure the hunter must sit relatively still while maintaining his/her weapon in a ready condition. If the hunter does not have his/her weapon readily available when the prey is within range, the hunters activity in reading the weapon will more than likely alert the prey resulting in an unsuccessful hunt. Maintaining the weapon readily available requires considerable concentration and energy given the duration a hunter must wait. Consequently most hunters are unable to maintain a weapon in a readily available state at all times while hunting. Additionally, some hunting techniques require a hunter to simulate wild life calls using his/her hands. The calling activity necessitates a hunter to sit his/her weapon aside temporarily. Accordingly, there is a need for a weapon support which will maintain a weapon in a ready position while a hunter waits for prey to walk within range of the weapon while also freeing the hands of the hunter for other purposes.
The present invention provides a weapon support which clamps to a hunting stand and which supports either a hunting bow or rifle. Prior to the present invention others have described various weapon supports such as the following:
Oglesby, U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,241 which describes an archery bow support for supporting an archery bow in an upright position when attached to an upstanding support. This invention is extremely useful for supporting an archery bow only however it is not adaptable for use with either an archery bow or rifle as the present invention.
Foster, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,657 which discloses an archery bow holder for a compound bow. This device similar to Oglesby is not adaptable for use with a rifle as the present invention.
Craig, U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,276 which claims a portable hunting tree stand adaptable to be removably connected to a tree trunk comprising an arm means for hanging a hunting bow to free the hands of the hunter. This device is useful for supporting a hunting bow, but does not provide support which maintains the hunting bow in a ready to use orientation requiring minimal movement of the hunter as the present invention. Additionally, the device claimed by Craig is not adaptable for use with either a rifle or archery bow.
Ballard, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,504 describes an archery support stand mounted to a top surface of a table. This device is useful as stated therein however it is not adaptable to be attached to numerous types of hunting stands and further is not adaptable with either a archery bow or a rifle as the present invention.
Williams, U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,415 describes a bow holder for a tree stand. This device is also useful for supporting an archery bow as described therein however it is not adaptable for use with either an archery bow or a rifle as the present invention.
Skyba, U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,363 describes a bow rest for a tree stand. This device is also useful for supporting an archery bow however as with other bow stands prior to the present invention the Skyba bow rest is not adaptable for use with either a rifle or a bow.
As will be described below the present invention provides a weapon support suitable for supporting either an archery bow or a rifle which is clampable to numerous types of tree stands and/or hunting blinds thereby allowing the hunter to use the support in numerous situations. The weapon support supports either a rifle or hunting bow in an orientation which is in a position ready for firing without movement or with minimal movement of the weapon. The minimal movement required prevents the hunter from startling the prey.